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quicksimon — M42 2009
Published: 2009-11-27 23:04:35 +0000 UTC; Views: 1094; Favourites: 25; Downloads: 27
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Description
Another clear spell in between the wind and rain gave me the opportunity to get out again. However, I only managed approximately 45 minutes’ worth of exposure as clouds came over. I did intend to capture some shorter exposures of the detailed core, but didn’t manage to, so I’ll have to make do with the overexposed version.Image details:
Meade 127 mm f7.5 Apo
Canon 350D
5 x 4.5 minute and 8 x 2.5 minute exposures @ ISO 800
Autoguided with PHD, Atik IC mono guidecam and 102mm Startravel guidescope
Light stacked with 5 flats and 3 darks in Deepsky stacker
Curves and slight saturation tweaking in photoshop
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Comments: 33
Oh wow, again... love this! So beautiful.
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Thanks very much for all your nice comments!
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Prettyful and crisp 
Looking forward to see more from your ED APO!
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Thanks a lot! I'll maybe try this one again in late winter, and I'll try the running man 
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Haha, ya, I always tried to get M42 with my bad equipment and chemical film earlier, because it's so bright. It's shape has burned more into my brain than into the film heh. But when I run out of other objects to capture I might try some nice long exposures on this one again.
The colours of your shot are amazing 
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Is this Meade telescope really 127mm in focal length? why not using so me 100/2.8 lens then? it would decreased exposure time almost 3 times!
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Thanks mate! No, the 127mm is the aperture. Its' focal length is 900mm, so f7.5. Now that I can use auto guiding, I can expose for five minutes and have pin-point stars, so it's all cool! Cheers!
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Ah, yes ofcourse i forgot that in astronomy diameter is more important then focal length
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Dunadan-from-Bag-End,
Not necessarily.
It depends on what you want to do.
A medium focal length refractor is pretty much useless for small galaxies (except for M31 and, maybe, just maybe, M33). They're designed to be widefield instruments. A long focal length Schmidt-Cassegrain (or, the like) is (are) ideal for galaxies and small nebulae.
Really comes down to what you want to do. As much as I love my triplet APO, I'm saving for a long focal length instrument to go after the faint fuzzies!
Regards,
H
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Yes, yes i know, however you've mentioned "medium focal legnth" - not any certain focal length. In photography you may say wide angle, standard focal length, short/long tele but behind those names there rae very perticular focal length, and anyway you really use focal lengths, while in astronomy I found you rather speak of aperture (diameter ) which tells you about the speed of optics. Ofcourse focal length is very important as it tells about field of view...
The point is - I was having impression, reading descriptions etc., that in astronomy aperture is of higher importance - in articles we can find lets say telescopes of 3m in diameter, not 3000mm focal length telescopes, right?
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I love the blue coloration on this one... I actually sighed when I looked at this.
M42 is my favorite nebula by far.
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Thanks for the kind words, and the sigh !
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Simon,
Focus, tracking and guiding look absolutely spot on.
Now, get out there and take a bunch of 15-second exposures to mask in the core.
My only gripe would be the composition. It is a really tough object to frame due to the focal length of the scope. I'd suggest having a look at what I did and including the Running Man/NGC 1977 in the mix. It ends up being a very tight crop, but, is a lot more aesthetically pleasing.
Good effort.
Regards,
H
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Thanks H!
I'm really pleased I can guide now, so looking forward to some long clear nights so I can have a real decent session. Yeah, the composition is a tricky one with this one, at the 900mm focal length. I did think of squeezing the running man in, but just happy to get the main neb in and have it all working! I'll probably have a another session on this one after I've tried a couple of galaxies, and make sure I get the core before the clouds roll over .. Thanks again
Simon
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OMG this is impressing! Amazing! I've never seen such a thing. I love this one and your new telescope already
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Thanks very much 
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You're welcome
I'll try to see it then, but I'm not sure I can recognize it though.
Keep such pics coming! They're great, and impressing
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I'll try my best, thanks
Cheers Helene !
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I'll try to look at it, but it's raining almost every, or your great friend the clouds are here
Cheers
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haha, no probs! Clouds are my enemy !
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